GCSE Psychology (AQA)

32 free revision lessons in 8 units. Open the course or go straight to a lesson.

Memory

How memory works as an active process — encoding, storage and retrieval, the multi-store model, reconstructive memory and the factors that distort what we recall.

1. Processes and Types of Memory
2. The Multi-Store Model of Memory
3. Serial Position and Murdock's Study
4. Reconstructive Memory and Accuracy

Perception

How we make sense of what we see — sensation versus perception, depth cues, the nature–nurture debate between Gibson and Gregory, visual illusions and the factors that shape what we perceive.

1. Sensation, Perception and Depth Cues
2. Gibson's Direct Theory of Perception
3. Visual Illusions and Gregory's Constructivist Theory
4. Factors Affecting Perception

Development

Early brain development and the nature–nurture debate, Piaget's stages of cognitive development and their use in education, Dweck's mindset theory, and the debate over learning styles.

1. Early Brain Development
2. Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
3. Piaget in Education: Conservation and Egocentrism
4. Mindset, Learning Styles and Willingham

Research Methods

The scientific toolkit of psychology — hypotheses, variables, sampling, research designs and methods, correlations, ethics, and the data handling and descriptive statistics that run through every topic.

1. Hypotheses, Variables and Sampling
2. Experimental Methods and Designs
3. Non-Experimental Methods and Correlation
4. Planning, Procedures and Ethics
5. Data Handling and Descriptive Statistics

Social Influence

Why we go along with the group and obey authority — conformity and Asch, obedience and Milgram, the authoritarian personality, bystander behaviour and Piliavin, and collective behaviour in crowds.

1. Conformity and Asch's Study
2. Obedience: Milgram and the Authoritarian Personality
3. Bystander Behaviour and Piliavin's Study
4. Crowd and Collective Behaviour

Language, Thought and Communication

The relationship between language and thought — Piaget versus the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, human versus animal communication and Von Frisch's bees, non-verbal communication, and whether it is innate or learned.

1. Language and Thought
2. Human and Animal Communication
3. Non-Verbal Communication

Brain and Neuropsychology

The biology of behaviour — the nervous system and fight or flight, neurons and synaptic transmission, the structure and localisation of function in the brain, and an introduction to neuropsychology and brain scanning.

1. The Nervous System and Fight or Flight
2. Neurons and Synaptic Transmission
3. Structure and Localisation of Function in the Brain
4. An Introduction to Neuropsychology

Psychological Problems

Mental health in context — characteristics of good mental health, how incidence changes over time, the effects on individuals and society, and the explanations and therapies for clinical depression and addiction.

1. Mental Health in Context
2. Clinical Depression: Characteristics and Theories
3. Interventions and Therapies for Depression
4. Addiction: Characteristics, Theories and Therapies

How to revise Psychology

• Retrieval Practice
• Spaced Repetition
• Interleaving
• Dual Coding
• Elaborative Interrogation
• Knowledge Organisers
• Timed Practice

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